About the Event
The 3rd annual Georgia Innovation Summit is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2018, at the GTRI Conference Center in Atlanta. The Summit will feature dynamic presentations by leaders from the corporate world, small business and entrepreneurs, innovation organizations, universities, and government on emerging trends and innovations that will affect businesses large and small throughout Georgia. The Summit is presented by the Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development Entrepreneurship & Small Business Team, the Georgia Centers of Innovation, and the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute.
A FinTech Panel will be hosted by the Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute with Jeff Gapusan (FinTech Catalyst, Georgia Tech) as facilitator and panelists include Tim Brown (Managing Director, GTSCL), Joe Kleinwaechter (Vice President - Innovation and Design, Worldpay | Chairman, Board of Directors for Georgia Tech Human - Computer Interaction Master's Program), Paul Noble (Founding Member of LaunchHouse | Founder and CEO, AUTIT), and PJ Bain (CEO of PrimeRevenue | Director of WiSys LLC). Please come and ask your questions!
About the Event Hosts
The Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection (MPC) is a business development program administered by the Georgia Education Foundation (GEF) in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. MPC provides opportunities for Georgia small businesses to benefit from a partnership with a corporate mentor for a period of one year. Emerging firms can build relationships, explore new technologies, learn about best practices, and benefit from the wisdom of corporate executives who are committed to the long-term health and overall growth of small businesses in Georgia. The mentor corporations are companies that are headquartered in Georgia or have a significant presence in the state. These mentor firms are leaders in their respective industries and are committed to small business development and supplier diversity. They represent a broad spectrum of industry categories, including transportation, education, logistics, manufacturing, telecommunications, consulting services and information technology.
GDEcD’s Entrepreneur and Small Business Team works hard to support small businesses and provide them with the necessary resources and services to succeed. The Entrepreneur & Small Business Team helps find solutions and effective ways to build an entrepreneurial environment to support small business through mentoring, professional development, strategic planning, and resource awareness. The team also connects with Georgia’s business and community associations so that thousands of businesses, local leaders and practitioners are aware of resources and opportunities. The team also supports the annual Georgia Small Business Rock Stars Awards which recognize the outstanding, unique and impactful small businesses in the state of Georgia.
Exclusive to Georgia, the Centers of Innovation provide over 1,000 businesses each year the technical industry expertise, collaborative research, and partnerships to help the State’s strategic industries connect, compete and grow globally. The Centers of Innovation provide value-added services that assist companies in Georgia’s key industries to develop new products, services, and markets through partnerships with state, federal and private institutions that comprise Georgia’s Innovation Ecosystem. This Ecosystem contains a large and diverse array of participants and resources, including the state’s universities and technical colleges, which contribute to and are necessary for ongoing innovation in the state’s modern economy.
The Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) is Georgia Tech’s business outreach organization and serves as the primary vehicle to achieve Georgia Tech’s goal of expanded local, regional, and global outreach. EI2 is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization, and economic development. EI2 serves startups, industry, the public sector, and students to help increase companies bottom line, improve competitiveness, and positively impact the economy. In addition, EI2 provides connections to Georgia Tech’s vast resources, including world-class research, state-of-the-art facilities, internationally recognized experts and upper-echelon students.